Will you forgive me?

This story was based of a series of pictures at a Yahoo group (which has, predictably, been deleted), where a woman was locked in a body cage, never to be released. As usual, any comments or critiques are always welcomed. Be warned that this is a grim story, with a not-too-happy ending. 
 
 
 

“Will you forgive me, my Pharaoh?” 

“Why should I?” The supreme ruler of all Egypt glared at his queen. “You have betrayed me, violated our sacred vows, and you have destroyed my trust. Why should I forgive you?” 

The queen quivered before his onslaught. “Bec… because I love you.” 

“You have not shown it.” 

“But I have learned from my mistake! I see that I was wrong to turn from you.” The queen kneeled before her ruler and husband. “Please, I beg of you. Please forgive me of what I have done.” 

The Pharaoh looked at her, his gaze piercing her flesh. 

“Bring me the man whom you met with.” The queen trembled. 

“You are going to kill him, are you not?” 

“Silence. If you want forgiveness, then bring him before me.” Trembling, the queen bowed. 

“I will do as you command.” 

With that, she left the room. 

Two hours later, she returned, her lover walking timidly behind her. They went into the brilliantly white throne room. The setting sun cast a red glow upon the Pharaoh, who sat upon his throne. 

The queen and her lover silently approached the throne. “I have bought him, my Pharaoh.” The queen said quietly. “Will you forgive me now?” 

The Pharaoh said nothing, did nothing. His eyes gazed upon the man before him, who trembled under his gaze. 

With a quick snap of the fingers, guards appeared from behind the marble pillars. They advanced on the frightened man, steel manacles in hand. 

They came upon him, shackled his wrists behind him, and they cuffed his ankles so that escape was all but impossible. 

“Take him to the dungeon, and keep him there until further orders.” The Pharaoh commanded. Nodding, several guards turned the man around and marched him away into custody, where he would most likely spend the rest of his life. His terrified expression was the last thing the queen saw. 

She tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to come. “You have taken him away, to do what I do not.” She fought to regain her composure, and succeeded briefly. “Do you forgive me now?” 

The Pharaoh snapped his fingers again. The remaining guards quickly turned on the queen and produced another set of steel manacles. The queen let out a small gasp of terror. With chilling efficiency, the guards forced the queen’s arms behind her back, where they applied the manacles. The steel was cold as it clasped her wrists in its cold embrace. The claps were locked shut. Her ankles were shackled as well. In the eyes of the Pharaoh, as well as the guards, she was no longer the queen. She had been stripped, and was now but an object, a prisoner to keep locked up. 

“Take her to the dungeon, and lock her to the wall. Keep her there until further orders.” 

With a quick nod, the guards moved to carry out their leader’s commands. They roughly took hold of their former queen’s shoulders and forced her out of the throne room. She cried as she was dragged to the dungeon. The light and cheerfulness of her world was taken away as she was dragged deep below the palace. The only light down here came from torches. Even then it was a dim light, barely providing any illumination. 

She was dragged to one of the deepest cells, where no light entered. The heavy stone door was unlocked and opened. The darkness of her cell was before her. She sobbed quietly as she was dragged inside and put up against the wall. She could see well enough to observe a large steel collar, an inch thick, chained to the wall. A guard took the collar and opened it. The queen kept what dignity she could as the collar was put around her neck. The cold steel kissed her neck as the collar was closed. With a final click, the lock was closed, and the collar was locked around her neck. 

With the prisoner secured, the guards left the room. The door was slowly shut, and when it was closed, the queen heard six levers being put into place to ensure that no one went in, and no one went out. With her arms locked behind her back, and with a collar that tethered her to the wall, the queen could do nothing but wait. She lay down on the cold, unfeeling floor, letting her quiet tears drip onto the stone. 

Time was a useless term here, in this cold, dark prison. Her only companions were her restraints. However, they were silent, obediently doing the task of keeping her restrained. The queen’s thoughts soon turned to her husband. What was he doing? Was this to be her punishment for her adultery? To be locked up in this horrible place forever? 

“What do you want of me?!” She finally screamed at the darkness. “What must I do to be forgiven?!” 

The answer came rather unexpectedly. The door was unlocked and opened. Four large men stood at the doorway. In front of them was one taller then them all. 

“Pharaoh”. The queen whispered. “You’ve come for me!” She then quietly lowered her voice. “Do you forgive me now, after my time here?” 

The Pharaoh did not reply. He snapped his fingers, and his guards went forward to take the Queen. Her collar was unlocked and removed, but her wrist and ankle restraints remained in place. Her limbs were weak. She was not able to resist as the guards roughly picked her up and carried her out of the cell. Pharaoh silently watched as his queen was carried away. She was taken through the prison until they reached a room that all prisoners feared. The torture room. 

Inside were many devices that tortured a body, that mangled and ruined limbs, and eyes, and tongues. Red-hot spikes were slowly heating over an open fire. The queen could not help but sweat and shiver in terror. What was going to happen to her? 

The guards slowly walked among the devices, letting the queen look upon each object of pain as long as possible. Fresh blood was still on some of the devices. They reached what they were looking for. It was a simple frame with a pair of rigid cuffs near the top, designed to hold a person’s hands over their head. 

The queen was moved into the frame. “If you try to resist, we will torture you.” One of the guards said. Two thugs took a pair of red-hot steel bars, glowing a bright red. 

The queen’s wrist manacles were unlocked. The rigid cuffs were opened. The queen’s hands were pulled above her head and the wrists placed within the open cuffs. With a quick snap, and a lock, the cuffs were closed and locked. The queen was now held firmly in place, her arms forced directly above her head. The guards ruthlessly tore off her clothing, leaving her naked and shivering. Both with the cold, and with fear. 

The two guards with the red-hot irons stood in place, ready to come forward and stab the queen if she tried anything. But the rest of the guards opened a chest, and revealed its contents. There were many rolls of white funeral bandages contained inside. The guards picked up many of the rolls and began to unwind them. They walked up to the helpless queen. 

“The Pharaoh has ordered you to be mummified alive.” One of the guards said. “If you resist, we will hurt you.” The guards with the hot irons moved them menacingly to get the point across. 

Stunned into silence, the queen did not resist as the guards began the task of wrapping every inch of her body into a tight, inescapable cocoon. The wrapping started at her feet, and slowly went up, the bandages being wrapped tightly around her legs, enveloping them in this new, dreadful skin. Soon four men were working on the helpless woman, wrapping her body up from head to toe. The bandages were put on very tightly, so it felt as if the bandages were trying to force their way into the queen’s skin. 

The queen watched the process in stunned silence. Her husband had ordered this to be done on her. What more would she have to endure before he would forgive her? 

She shifted slightly, trying to make her wrists more comfortable in the metal restraints that gripped them. The guards paid no attention to her squirming. The bandages had been wrapped up to just below her waist. They doubled their efforts, winding the bandages even tighter as they went up and up over the queen’s body. 

Within half an hour, the queen had been wrapped up to her armpits. The thick and soft bandages applied to her form compressed and contained her. She struggled to breathe, as the compression on her chest was terrible. But the guards still had more wrapping to do. They wound the bandages around the queen’s arms and shoulders, slowly but surely moving up to her chin. When they reached the queen’s head, two guards broke off and began a new layer of bandages at the queen’s feet, intending to bind her legs together. 

The other two guards were to wrap her head. But first, her hair had to be cut off. One guard gripped her head and held it in place, as the other guard took a sharp blade and sliced off her thick and bouncy hair. It fell to the floor and lay there in a pile. At this act, the queen could not help but cry. She was ugly. What more would they do to her? 

The guards, as it turned out, had more things to do. For the next hour they proceeded to wrap her body in five layers of bandages, which were wound to an incredible tightness that didn’t seem possible. Soon, breathing was very difficult, and it took the queen great effort simply to draw air into her lungs. Soon, the queen was almost finished. All that was left to wrap was her head. 

A table was pulled over next to the frame. With a loud click, her shackles were unlocked, and her hands released. With ninety five percent of her body wrapped and secured, she was completely helpless as the guards picked her up and carried her over to the table. She was placed onto the table, and black leather straps were applied across her legs, locking her to the table. 

Two guards took the queen and propped her up at an angle. One of the guards took the queens wrapped arms and placed them at her side. And the last guard took a roll of wrappings and quickly wove her arms seamlessly into her wrapped torso. The queen watched with stunned silence as her arms merged and disappeared. The queen was laid down flat onto the table, and more straps were placed over her waist, chest, and neck, making sure that she was securely pressed down. Only one last thing to do. One guard took a large length of bandages and wadded it up. He slowly walked up to the queen’s face. 

The queen watched with fright as his intention became fully clear. “Resist, and feel pain.” The guard said. “Open your mouth.” 

With a silent sob, she slowly opened her mouth. The guard took the wad of bandages and stuffed them into the hole, pressing her tongue down and filling the entire cavity. Another bandage was taken and wrapped around the top of the queen’s head, and under her jaw. With each pass, her mouth was pulled millimeter, by slow millimeter, closer together. Then, her mouth was forced shut. 

With a few quick winds, more bandages were applied to her mouth, and her mouth was sealed shut. She tried moving her tongue. No such luck. The wad forced her to keep her tongue in place. Moving it was impossible, along with making legitimate speech. She cried, realizing that she would probably never speak again. 

Wasting no time, the guards began to wrap her head. The ornate paintings and jewelry that had been applied to her face were ignored as the wrappings covered them forever. Her tears were quickly soaked up by the bandages that covered her nose, ears, and cheeks. Slowly and methodically, they inched up towards her eyes, threatening to cover them, and force them shut for all time. 

They almost did. Within two minutes, all that remained of the queen’s bare skin was her eyes. The guards were poised above her, ready to force her eyes shut. The queen whimpered with fear as fingers reached towards them. 

“Stop.” A quiet voice said. The fingers instantly withdrew. “That is enough. Make sure she’s tied up tightly.” 

Though the voice was heavily muffled, the queen recognized it. It was her husband, the Pharaoh. Surely he was coming to tell her that this was all that he was going to do to her. Surely he would go no further then this. Surely this was the end of her punishment for her lack of faith. The guards quickly finished applying the bandages to the queen’s body. When the final strip of bandage was sealed and placed down, the queen resembled a caterpillar in its cocoon, wiggling and squirming slightly, unable to escape this tight sausage of silk that enveloped her. 

“Take her.” The unseen Pharaoh ordered. “We will finish this.” 

The straps were undone, though the queen did not feel them. She did feel the hands that took her, though their feel was almost untouchable through the thick layers that enveloped her body. She was placed on a stretcher, and was quickly carried out of the room. The stretcher turned towards the dark hallway where her prison cell was. Her buried heart thudded in fear. Now they were going to toss her back into prison and lock her there for years. That was it. But… maybe after that she would finally be forgiven. 

They went to her cell… and passed it. The queen was shocked. If they were not going to lock her in her cell, then what were they going to do to her? She could only lie and wait. It would not be long. 

The guards went down many stairs, going deep under the palace, deeper and deeper into the ground, until they were a hundred feet below the surface. There were no torches down here. The ones the guards carried were flickering and fading from the lack of air. The queen watched as a great doorway passed over her head. They were in a chamber. Of what kind, she did not know. Even as queen, she did not know what was down here. Only the Pharaoh knew. 

The stretcher she was on came to a stop. The guards picked her up and stood her on her mummified feet. The sight that met her eyes was ghastly. 

The small room was empty, save for three things. On opposite sides of the chamber were two upright cages, unlike any the queen had ever seen before. They were shaped like human bodies, with many bars and steel strips forming an enclosing cage designed to fit tightly against the occupant. There was a form locked in one of the cages. It was a mummy. Judging from its build, there was a man contained within the bandages. His eyes were unwrapped, and wide with fright. 

“That was the man you loved.” The Pharaoh said, coming into the queen’s view. “He has been mummified, as you are, and has been locked into the cage. He will remain there. Now,” He looked at the open cage, which waited patiently for an occupant. “We will lock you in that one.” 

“MMphhhfhhh!!!” The queen’s lover shouted from his prison. 

The queen was carried to the cage. Taken behind it, she watched mutely as the back was opened. With steady moves, the guards pushed her into this cage until she was pressed firmly against the steel bars. The back of the cage was closed. Locks were applied, and bars were tightened. Screws and levers were twisted. The queen whimpered with fright as the cage closed around her, immobilizing her form upright, with no possible flexibility. With each twist and turn of the screws and levers, the cage closed in mercilessly on its occupant. Then, at last, it was done. 

The queen was held upright, locked into this body cage. It fit her so closely and tightly, that it might have been a glove. 

The Pharaoh walked in front of the helpless queen. “This is your punishment. You will stay here, locked into your cage. You and your lover will face each other forever. For I will never release you.” 

The queen was stunned. The shock lasted only for a few seconds, before it wore off and the tears flowed from her eyes. She tried to squirm as she cried. But the cage was merciless, and held her in place. 

“You will remain here until you die. How long that will be, I do not know.” The Pharaoh said calmly. “Only your death and suffering will satisfy me for your lack of faith.” 

With that, the Pharaoh turned and walked to the doorway of the tiny chamber. The guards left as well. The queen and her lover were the only ones inside. The Pharaoh took a single torch and held it in his hands. He looked at his queen, who could not look at him. 

“Now, with this act, I forgive you.” 

He tossed the torch into the center of the room, directly between the two bound and caged captives. A switch was pulled. A massive boulder, weighing several tons, slid out of the ceiling and covered the entrance. With a loud bang, it fell into place, sealing the room forever. It was now the tomb of the two captives. A few pebbles and rocks slid onto the floor. Then… silence. 

The queen and her lover were forced to look at each other, the cages forcing their heads towards each other. They would die this way, facing each other, the cages holding their mummified bodies in place for all time. The torch slowly began to flicker, and began to fade. The queen, using all of her strength, managed to look at the torch as it faded and faded. Only a few seconds, and then it would go out. 

As it slowly flicked, and the last light the two would ever see began to go out. 

A single tear escaped the queen’s eye. 

The torch flickered one more time, then went out. 

Silence. 

Darkness. 

Nothing.
 
 

Any and all comments are always appreciated!
My thanks to those of you who tell me what you think of my stories.  Your comments and suggestions allow me to refine my writting.
 

09.09.05